Part 8

"Noctes Ambrosianæ," Vol. iii,--_John Wilson_.

JOHN WILSON (CHRISTOPHER NORTH), a noted Scottish writer, was born May 18, 1785, at Paisley, and died April 3, 1854. Among his works are: "The Isle of Palms," "The City of the Plague," "Lights and Shadows of Scottish Life," "The Trials of Margaret Lindsay," "The Foresters," etc.

Not alone to know, but to act according to thy knowledge, is thy destination,--proclaims the voice of my inmost soul. Not for indolent contemplation and study of thyself, nor for brooding over emotions of piety--no, for action was existence given thee; thy actions, and thy actions alone, determine thy worth.

--_Fichte_.

JOHANN GOTTLIEB FICHTE, a renowned German philosopher, was born at Rammenau in Upper Lusatia, May 19, 1762, and died at Berlin, January 27, 1814. Among his works are: "Foundations of the Whole Doctrine of Science," "Introduction to the Doctrine of Science," "The Doctrine of Science," "System of Moral Doctrine," "Man's Destiny," and his celebrated treatise, "Essay Toward a Critique of All Revelation."

The worth of a state, in the long run, is the worth of the individuals composing it.

--_John Stuart Mill_.

JOHN STUART MILL, a famous English philosophical writer, logician, and political economist, was born in London, May 20, 1806, and died at Avignon, France, May 8, 1873. Among the most important of his works are: "Essay on Liberty," "Logic," "Political Economy," "On the Subjection of Women," "Examination of Sir William Hamilton's Philosophy," "Auguste Comte and Positivism," and "Utilitarianism." His "Autobiography" appeared in 1873.

It was the calm and silent night! Seven hundred years and fifty-three Had Rome been growing up to might, And now was queen of land and sea. No sound was heard of clashing wars, Peace brooded o'er the hushed domain; Apollo, Pallas, Jove, and Mars Held undisturbed their ancient reign, In the solemn midnight Centuries ago.

"Christmas Hymn,"--_Alfred Domett_.

ALFRED DOMETT, a noted British statesman and poet, was born at Camberwell Grove, Surrey, May 20, 1811, and died in 1887. The best known of his works are: "Ranolf and Amohia, a South Sea Day Dream," and "Flotsam and Jetsam: Rhymes Old and New."

Awake, my St. John! leave all meaner things To low ambition and the pride of kings. Let us (since life can little more supply Than just to look about us, and to die) Expatiate free o'er all this scene of man; A mighty maze! but not without a plan.

"Essay on Man," Epistle i, Line 1,--_Alexander Pope_.

ALEXANDER POPE, the renowned English poet, was born at London, May 21, 1688, and died at Twickenham on the Thames, May 30, 1744. His most famous works are: "Homer's Odyssey," "The Iliad of Homer," translated, "Epistles from Eloisa to Abelard," "The Rape of the Lock," "The Temple of Fame," "Essay on Criticism," "The Dunciad," "Imitations of Horace," "Essay on Man," etc.

"It is more than a crime; it is a political fault,"--words which I record, because they have been repeated and attributed to others.

"Memoirs,"--_Fouché_.

JOSEPH FOUCHÉ (DUKE OF OTRANTO), a celebrated French statesman, was born May 21, 1759, and died in 1820. A few of his famous political pamphlets and reports are: "Réflexions sur le jugement de Louis Cofret," "Réflexions sur l'éducation publique," "Rapport et project de loi relatif aux Collèges," etc.

A sudden thought strikes me,--let us swear an eternal friendship.

"The Rovers,"--_J. H. Frere_.

JOHN HOOKHAM FRERE, a noted English poet, translator, and diplomatist, was born in London, May 21, 1769, and died in Malta, January 7, 1846. He produced: the "Prospectus and Specimen of an Intended National Work... Relating to King Arthur and his Round Table," known as "The Monks and the Giants"; a literary burlesque, and numerous translations.

A sound so fine, there's nothing lives 'Twixt it and silence.

"Virginius," Act v, Sc. 2 (1784-1862),--_James Sheridan Knowles_.

JAMES SHERIDAN KNOWLES, a famous Irish actor, lecturer and dramatist, was born at Cork, May 21, 1784, and died at Torquay, England, November 30, 1862. Among his dramas are: "Caius Gracchus," "William Tell," "Alfred the Great," "The Wife: a Tale of Mantua," "The Rose of Aragon," and his three masterpieces, "Virginius," "The Hunchback," and "The Love Chase."

Unconsciousness is one of the most important conditions of a good style in speaking or in writing.

--_Richard Grant White_.

RICHARD GRANT WHITE, an eminent American journalist, critic, and Shakespearean scholar, was born in New York City, May 22, 1822, and died there, April 8, 1885. Among his books are: "National Hymns: A Lyrical and National Study for the Times," "Memoirs of the Life of William Shakespeare, with an Essay Towards the Expression of His Genius," "Poetry of the Civil War," "Words and Their Uses," "England Without and Within," etc.

The bow was made in England: Of true wood, of yew-wood, The wood of English bows; So men who are free Love the old yew-tree And the land where the yew-tree grows.

"Songs of Action: Song of the Bow," etc. I,--_Sir A. Conan Doyle_.

SIR ARTHUR CONAN DOYLE, a renowned Scotch story and romance writer, was born in Edinburgh, May 22, 1859. His works include: "A Study in Scarlet," "The Sign of the Four," "The White Company," "The Great Shadow," "Adventures of Sherlock Holmes," "The Hound of the Baskervilles," "Adventures of Gerard," "Return of Sherlock Holmes," "Sir Nigel," "Through the Magic Door," "The Fires of Fate," "The Crime of the Congo," "The Lost World," "The Case of Oscar Slater," "The Valley of Fear," "A Visit to Three Fronts," "His Last Bow," etc.

I remember, I remember The fir-trees dark and high; I used to think their slender-tops Were close against the sky; It was a childish ignorance, But now 'tis little joy To know I'm farther off from heaven Than when I was a boy.

"I remember, I remember,"--_Thomas Hood_.

THOMAS HOOD, the great English poet, was born in London, May 23, 1799, and died there May 3, 1845. Among his poetical works are: "The Haunted House," "Whims and Oddities," "The Plea of the Midsummer Fairies," and "The Hostler's Lament," "The Bridge of Sighs," and "The Song of the Shirt."

Chance cannot touch me! Time cannot hush me! Fear, hope, and longing, at strife, Sink as I rise, on, on, upward forever, Gathering strength, gaining breath,--naught can sever Me from the Spirit of Life!

"Dryad Song," Stanza 4,--_Margaret Fuller_.

SARAH MARGARET FULLER, Marchioness d'Ossoli, best known as "Margaret Fuller," was born at Cambridgeport, Mass., May 23, 1810, and died in 1850. She wrote: "Art, Literature, and Drama," "At Home and Abroad," "Life Without and Life Within," and a collection of essays on "Women in the Nineteenth Century."

The object of science is knowledge; the objects of art are works. In art, truth is the means to an end; in science, it is the only end. Hence the practical arts are not to be classed among the sciences.

--_William Whewell_.

WILLIAM WHEWELL, a noted English philosopher and scientist, was born at Lancaster, May 24, 1794, and died at Cambridge, March 6, 1866. Among his works are: "History of the Inductive Sciences," "Philosophy of the Inductive Sciences," "Lectures on Political Economy," "Elements of Morality," etc.

If ever any poet stood in the white light of the beauty which we call poetry, it was Mrs. Browning. Her thoughts were as fire and her words were as fire.

"Lectures on English Literature," 1889, p. 135.--_Maurice Francis Egan_.

MAURICE FRANCIS EGAN, a distinguished man of letters, was born in Philadelphia, May 24, 1852 and died in 1923. His works include: "That Girl of Mine," "That Lover of Mine," "A Garden of Roses," "Stories of Duty," "The Life Around Us," "Lectures on English Literature," "A Primer of English Literature," "A Gentleman," "The Flower of the Flock," "Preludes" (poetry), "Songs and Sonnets," "Everybody's St. Francis."

Beneath the rule of men entirely great, The pen is mightier than the sword.

"Richelieu," Act ii, Sc. 2,--_Edward Bulwer-Lytton_.

EDWARD BULWER-LYTTON, LORD LYTTON, the renowned English novelist, poet and dramatist, was born in London, May 25, 1803, and died in Torquay, January 18, 1873. Among his famous novels are: "Eugene Aram," "Pelham," "Last Days of Pompeii," "Pilgrims of the Rhine," "Last of the Barons," "Ernest Maltravers," "A Strange Story," "Rienzi," "Devereux," "Falkland," "Harold," "The Coming Race," "The Caxtons," and three noted dramas, "Money," "Richelieu," and "The Lady of Lyons."

I rarely read any Latin, Greek, German, Italian, sometimes not a French book, in the original, which I can procure in a good version. I like to be beholden to the great metropolitan English speech, the sea which receives tributaries from every region under heaven. I should as soon think of swimming across Charles River when I wish to go to Boston, as of reading all my books in originals when I have them rendered for me in my mother tongue.

"Books,"--_Ralph Waldo Emerson_.

RALPH WALDO EMERSON, the famous American philosopher, essayist and poet, was born in Boston, May 25, 1803, and died at Concord, Mass., April 27, 1882. He wrote: "The American Scholar," "Man the Reformer," "Nature," "The Young American," "The Conduct of Life," "Letters and Social Aims," "Tribute to Walter Scott," "Society and Solitude," "Representative Men," "Miscellanies," "Essays," "Poems," "May Day and Other Pieces," etc.

Satire should, like a polished razor keen, Wound with a touch that's scarcely felt or seen.

"To the Imitator of the First Satire of Horace," Book ii,--_Mary Wortley Montagu_.

MARY WORTLEY, LADY MONTAGU, a celebrated English letter-writer, was born at Thoresby, Notts, May 26, 1689, and died in England, August 21, 1762. Her "Letters" won for her great literary fame.

In the beauty of the lilies Christ was born across the sea, With a glory in His bosom that transfigures you and me; As He died to make men holy, let us die to make men free.

"Battle Hymn of the Republic,"--_Julia Ward Howe_.

JULIA WARD HOWE, a famous American poet, essayist, lecturer, biographer, and writer of travels, was born in New York, May 27, 1819, and died in 1910. Among her works are: "Life of Margaret Fuller," "Trip to Cuba," "Sex and Education," "The World's Own," "Later Lyrics," "From the Oak to the Olive," and her celebrated "Battle Hymn of the Republic."

A cause is like champagne and high heels,--one must be prepared to suffer for it.

"The Title,"--_Arnold Bennett_.

ENOCH ARNOLD BENNETT, a famous English author and journalist, was born at North Staffordshire, May 27, 1867. Among his many works are: "The Truth About an Author," "A Great Man," "The Old Wives' Tale," "The Regent," "The Price of Love," "Over There," "War Scenes on the Western Front," "Books and Persons," "The Pretty Lady," "The Roll Call," "Things That Have Interested Me." Among his plays are: "Milestones" (with Edward Knoblauch), "The Great Adventure," "The Title," "Judith," "Sacred and Profane Love."

Whate'er there be of Sorrow I'll put off till To-morrow And when To-morrow comes, why then 'Twill be To-day and Joy again.

"The Word,"--_John K. Bangs_.

JOHN KENDRICK BANGS, a noted American humorist and novelist, was born May 27, 1862, and died January 21, 1922. Among his publications are "Coffee and Repartee," "Mr. Bonaparte of Corsica," "Water Ghost and Other Stories," "A Houseboat on the Styx," "A Rebellious Heroine," "The Pursuit of the Houseboat," "Olympian Nights," "Over the Plum Pudding," "Mollie and the Unwise Man," "The Inventions of the Idiot," "Songs of Cheer," "Little Book of Christmas," "Line o' Cheer for Each Day of the Year," "The Foothills of Parnassas," "From Pillar to Post," "Half-Hours with the Idiot."

The harp that once through Tara's halls The soul of music shed, Now hangs as mute on Tara's walls As if that soul were fled. So sleeps the pride of former days, So glory's thrill is o'er; And hearts that once beat high for praise Now feel that pulse no more.

"The Harp that Once Through Tara's Halls,"--_Thomas Moore_.

THOMAS MOORE, one of the greatest of Irish poets, was born at Dublin, May 28, 1779, and died near Devizes, February 25, 1852. His most famous works were: "Irish Melodies," "Loves of the Angels," "Odes and Epistles," "The Twopenny Post Bag," "History of Ireland," "The Epicurean," and "Lalla Rookh," his most famous work.

Asa Gray and Dr. Tarrey are known wherever the study of botany is pursued. Gray, with his indefatigable zeal, will gain upon his competitors.

"Life and Correspondence," ed. Agassiz, Vol. ii, p. 437, Letter to Milne Edwards,--_L. Agassiz_.

JEAN LOUIS RODOLPHE AGASSIZ, a renowned Swiss naturalist, was born at Motier, Switzerland, May 28, 1807, and died at Cambridge, Mass., December 14, 1873. He published: "Studies of Glaciers," "Principles of Zoölogy," "The Structure of Animal Life," "Scientific Results of a Journey in Brazil," etc.

Is life so dear or peace so sweet as to be purchased at the price of chains and slavery? Forbid it, Almighty God! I know not what course others may take, but as for me, give me liberty, or give me death!

"Speech in the Virginia Convention," March, 1775,--_Patrick Henry_.

PATRICK HENRY, an illustrious American orator, was born at Studley, Va., May 29, 1736, and died at Red Hill, Va., June 6, 1799. His numerous speeches may be found in a (3 vols.) book, entitled "Life," by William Wirt Henry.

"Vanitas Vanitatum" has rung in the ears Of gentle and simple for thousands of years; The wail still is heard, yet its notes never scare Either simple or gentle from Vanity Fair.

"Vanity Fair,"--_Frederick Locker-Lampson_.

FREDERICK LOCKER-LAMPSON, a noted English poet, was born at Greenwich, May 29, 1821, and died in 1895. His fame rests principally upon his "Society Verses."

In this dim world of clouding cares, We rarely know, till wildered eyes See white wings lessening up the skies The angels with us unawares.

"Babe Cristabel,"--_Thomas Gerald Massey_.

(THOMAS) GERALD MASSEY, a celebrated English poet, was born near Tring, Hertfordshire, May 29, 1828, and died October 29, 1907. He published "Voices of Freedom and Lyrics of Love," "The Ballad of Babe Cristabel," "War Waits," and "A Tale of Eternity." He collected the best of these volumes into a two-volume edition of poems called "My Lyrical Life." He also wrote: "The Book of the Beginnings," "The Natural Genesis," and his most important work, "Ancient Egypt: The Light of the World."

"Truths turn into dogmas the moment they are disputed."

"Heretics,"--_G. K. Chesterton_.

GILBERT KEITH CHESTERTON, a famous English author was born in London, May 29, 1874. He has published: "Robert Browning," "Charles Dickens," "George Bernard Shaw," "What's Wrong with the World?" "The Victorian Age in Literature," "The Wisdom of Father Brown," "Poems," "A Shilling for My Thoughts," "A Short History of England," "Irish Impressions," "The Superstition of Divorce," etc.

So long as faith with freedom reigns And loyal hope survives, And gracious charity remains To leaven lowly lives; While there is one untrodden tract For intellect or will, And men are free to think and act, Life is worth living still.

"Is Life Worth Living?"--_Alfred Austin_.

ALFRED AUSTIN, a noted English poet, critic and journalist, was born at Headingly, near Leeds, May 30, 1835, and died in 1913. He was appointed poet laureate of England in 1896. Among his writings are: "The Golden Age: A Satire," "The Tower of Babel," "The Human Tragedy," "Veronica's Garden," etc.

Die Liebe wintert nicht Nein, nein! Ist und bleibt Frühlings-Schein.[4]

"Herbstlied,"--_Ludwig Tieck_.

JOHANN LUDWIG TIECK, a celebrated German poet and miscellaneous writer, was born in Berlin, May 31, 1773, and died there, April 28, 1853. Among his works may be mentioned: "William Lovell," "Ostrich Plumes," "Abdallah," "Peter Lebrecht: A Story Without Adventures," "Prince Zerbino," "Romantic Fancies," "Life and Death of St. Genevieve," "Love Songs of the Suabian Past," "Old English Dramatists," "The Tourists," "The Old Man of the Mountain," "Society in the Country," "Dramatic Pages," "The Betrothal," "Musical Joys and Sorrows," etc.

To me every hour of the light and dark is a miracle, Every cubic inch of space is a miracle.

"Miracles,"--_Walt Whitman_.

WALT WHITMAN, a renowned American poet, was born at West Hills, L. I., May 31, 1819, and died at Camden, N. J., March 26, 1892. He wrote: "Leaves of Grass," "As a Strong Bird on Pinions Free, and Other Poems," "Two Rivulets" "November Boughs," "Memoranda During the War," "Drum Taps," "Passage to India," etc.

A brave endeavor To do thy duty, whate'er its worth, Is better than life with love forever, And love is the sweetest thing on earth.

"Sir Hugo's Choice,"--_James Jeffrey Roche_.

JAMES JEFFREY ROCHE, a noted American author, was born in Queen's County, Ireland, May 31, 1847, and died in 1908. He has written: "Songs and Satires," "Ballads of Blue Water," "Life of John Boyle O'Reilly," "His Majesty the King; A Romance of the Harem," etc.

FOOTNOTES:

[1] There should be many judges, for few will always do the will of few.

[2] Much knows he who knows naught, if he can hold his tongue.

[3] The great are only great because we are on our knees. Let us rise up.

[4] Love knows no winter; no, no! It is, and remains the sign of spring.

JUNE

JUNE

Abide with me! fast falls the even-tide! The darkness deepens; Lord, with me abide! When other helpers fail, and comforts flee, Help of the helpless, oh, abide with me!

"Abide With Me!"--_Henry Francis Lyte_.

HENRY FRANCIS LYTE, a distinguished British clergyman and poet, was born at Kelso, Scotland, June 1, 1793, and died at Nice, France, November 20, 1847. He has written: "The Spirit of the Psalms," and some well-known hymns, among them, "Abide with Me," "Jesus, I My Cross Have Taken," "Praise, My Soul," "The King of Heaven," etc.

While we would have our young sisters imitate, as they cannot fail to love, the conduct of Ruth, will not their elders do well to ponder on, and imitate the tenderness of Naomi? Would we have our daughters Ruths, we must be Naomis.

--_Grace Aguilar_.

GRACE AGUILAR, a celebrated English novelist, was born at Hackney, June 2, 1816, and died at Frankfort-on-the-Main, September 16, 1847. She wrote: "The Spirit of Judaism," "Women of Israel," "Home Influence," "The Days of Bruce," "The Vale of Cedars," etc.

'Tis wise to learn; 'tis God-like to create.

"The Library,"--_John G. Saxe_.

JOHN G. SAXE, a noted American humorous poet, was born in Highgate, Vt., June 2, 1816, and died in Albany, N. Y., March 31, 1887. His most popular poems include: "Rhyme of the Rail," and "The Proud Miss McBride."

When false things are brought low, And swift things have grown slow, Feigning like froth shall go, Faith be for aye.

"Between Us Now,"--_Thomas Hardy_.

THOMAS HARDY, the renowned English novelist, was born in Dorsetshire, June 2, 1840. Among his noted works are: "Desperate Remedies," "Under the Greenwood Tree," "A Pair of Blue Eyes," "Far from the Madding Crowd" (Cornhill), "The Hand of Ethelberta," "The Return of the Native," "The Trumpet Major," "A Laodicean," "Two on a Tower," "The Mayor of Casterbridge," "The Woodlanders," "Tess of the D'Urbervilles," "Jude the Obscure," "The Well Beloved," "Wessex Tales," "A Group of Noble Dames," "Life's Little Ironies," "A Changed Man, The Waiting Supper and Other Tales," "Wessex Poems," "Poems of the Past and the Present," "The Dynasts" Pt. 1, 2, 3 (1903, 1906, 1908), "Time's Laughing Stocks," "Satires of Circumstance," "Moments of Vision and Miscellaneous Verses," "Complete Poetical Works."

Let every man be occupied, and occupied in the highest employment of which his nature is capable, and die with the consciousness that he has done his best.

"Memoirs," Vol. i, p. 130,--_Sydney Smith_.

SYDNEY SMITH, the famous English wit, essayist and clergyman, was born at Woodford, Essex, June 3, 1771, and died in London, February 22, 1845. Among his publications are: "Three Letters to Archdeacon Singleton on the Ecclesiastical Commission," "Letters," "Papers," "Peter Plymley's Letters," etc.

Courage, Brother! do not stumble, Though thy path be dark as night; There's a star to guide the humble, Trust in God and do the Right.

"Trust in God,"--_Norman Macleod_.

NORMAN MACLEOD, a distinguished Scottish divine and miscellaneous writer, was born at Campbeltown, June 3, 1812, and died at Glasgow, June 16, 1872. Among his writings are: "Peeps at the Far East," "Wee Davie," "The Earnest Student," "Character Sketches," "Parish Papers," and "The Starling."

Qui fuit peut revenir aussi; Qui meurt, il n'en est pas ainsi.[1]

--_Scarron_.

PAUL SCARRON, a noted French poet, novelist, and dramatist, was born at Paris, June 4, 1610, and died there October 14, 1660. His works include: "The Ridiculous Heir," "Jodelet," "Don Japhet of Armenia," "The Scholar of Salamanca," and his best known work the "Comic Romance." His travesty of the Æneid (1648-53) was considered a masterpiece of its kind.

To found a great empire for the sole purpose of raising up a people of customers may at first sight appear a project fit only for a nation of shopkeepers.

"Wealth of Nations," Vol. ii, Book iv, Chap. vii, part 3 (1775),--_Adam Smith_.

ADAM SMITH, a celebrated Scotch political economist, was born at Kirkcaldy, June 5, 1723, and died at Edinburgh, July 17, 1790. Among his works may be mentioned: "Inquiry into the Nature and Causes of the Wealth of Nations," "Theory of Moral Sentiments," and "Origin of Languages."

Les hommes valeureux le sont au premier coup.[2]

"Le Cid," II, 3,--_Corneille_.

PIERRE CORNEILLE, the illustrious French dramatist, was born at Rouen, June 6, 1606, and died in Paris, September 30, 1684. He wrote: "The Gallery of the Palace," "The Lady's Maid," "Mélite," "The Widow," "The Palais Royal," "Medea," "The Dramatic Illusion," "Pompey," "The Liar," "The Sequel to the Liar," "Cinna," "Horace," "Théodore," "Polyeucte," "Don Sancho," "The Golden Fleece," "The Cid," etc., etc.

There is no such thing as abstract liberty; it is not even thinkable. If you ask me, "Do you favor liberty?" I reply, "Liberty for whom to do what?"

"The Shadow on the Dial,"--_Ambrose Bierce_.

AMBROSE BIERCE, a noted American author and journalist, was born in Ohio, June 6, 1842, disappeared in 1913. His best known works are: "In the Midst of Life," "Shapes of Clay," and "Can Such Things Be?" His "Collected Works," in 12 volumes, were published 1909-1912.

Beddoes was, so to say, saturated with the spirit of the Elizabethan Dramatists, and cast his poetry for the most part into Elizabethan forms.

A Poetry Book, Second Series, "The Modern Poets," p. 322, _note_,--_Amelia B. Edwards_.

AMELIA BLANDFORD EDWARDS, a celebrated English novelist and Egyptologist, was born in London, June 7, 1831, and died April 15, 1892. She has published: "My Brother's Wife," "Hand and Glove," "In the Days of My Youth," "A Thousand Miles up the Nile," etc.

I studied the great art of fiction closely for fifteen years before I presumed to write a word of it.

--_Charles Reade_.